While not ruling out the possibility that he could play this year, Tampa Bay assistant general manager Julien BriseBois said that new Syracuse Crunch defenseman Artem Sergeev's main task is getting a jump start on next season.

BriseBois said this is an important time in the player getting to know his new surroundings and coaches, and the organization also has a chance to update its scouting report on him.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound defenseman played for Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL this season.

In 55 regular season games, Sergeev posted six goals and 33 assists for that team. In 10 playoff games, he went 3-3.

"He is a really good athlete, real strong physically,'' BriseBois said. "We look forward to working with him on his overall game.''

In other news, BriseBois said neither defenseman Evan Oberg (upper body) nor Brendan Mikkelson (foot) will be ready for the opening of the playoffs in two weeks.

BriseBois also said he doesn't know when goalie Riku Helenius will rejoin the team. Helenius has returned to his native Finland for family reasons.